Stirring things up

Arts, culture focus of spring events planned for downtown Aberdeen

Arts, culture focus of spring events planned for downtown Aberdeen

March 02, 2008

Three downtown events are planned this spring as part of “Stir It Up.” “We're stirring up the arts and culture in our community,” explained Georgia Smith, marketing and events manager for the Aberdeen Downtown Association. Smith said the Aberdeen area is a melting pot of diversity, cultures and creativity. “People just don't realize what's under their noses,” she said. The events are:

The Art and Bike Spectacle, noon-6 p.m. Saturday, April 26, Presentation College nursing/social work building.

Rock the Block, noon-midnight Saturday, April 26, South Main Street.

YAPA's Battle of the Bands, 7 p.m. Saturday, May 3, YAPAtorium. Details are still being determined for the Battle of the Bands, said Josh Andrews, YAPAtorium supervisor, but bands wanting to participate can call the YAPAtorium at (605) 626-3595. The registration deadline is April 1; cost is $25 per band. Smith said more events throughout the year are welcome - not just from Aberdeen, but from area towns as well. What does a “big, fat Doberman” named Chopper have to do with the music scene in Aberdeen? Turns out, quite a bit. Chopper is the namesake for Chubby Puppy Productions, the new business that's hoping to draw 1,000-2,000 people to see bands from Aberdeen and Minneapolis at April's Rock the Block event on South Main Street. The goal is to “produce a hunger for good music in town,” said Zach Carrels. Carrels, 21, Brandon Johnson, 20, and James Carroll, 26, are the men behind the music at Chubby Puppy. They've actually been bringing bands to Aberdeen for quite awhile, but in mid-January, they made the business official. Chubby Puppy is currently working out of Carroll's house and is in the process of building a recording studio upstairs, Carrels said. The business will record and market bands, promote concerts and shows and bring bands into town, he said. Carroll is also building amp boxes and guitars. The company's kick-off event will be Rock the Block, an all-day music festival on Saturday, April 26. South Main Street between Second and Third avenues will be blocked off for the festival, which is noon-midnight, Carrels said, with an after-party at Red Rooster Coffee House from midnight to 2 a.m. Headliners will be Minneapolis bands God Johnson and Gold Standard. Local bands are:

Groove Reflex (Carrels and Johnson are members).

Skully Knuckles.

Pops Blue Rhythm.

Dr. Versatile.

BlacKat Bone.

Mojo Filter. Admission will be $6, Carrels said. It will be a dry show (no alcohol), he said, and families are encouraged to attend. The event, which is being promoted regionally, aims to emphasize art, culture and good music, Carrels said. “We're really excited about it.” There aren't many places you can go and see a person in a suit next to a person with a mohawk. The Fallout Creative Community wants to change that. “The idea is to promote inclusion in a really broad way,” said Tom Gilsenan, who is involved in the Aberdeen group. One way the community hopes to do that is through the Art and Bike Spectacle, an arts festival planned for April 26 that will welcome everyone and will be inclusive for people with disabilities, said Gilsenan, who is also the chair of the social work department at Presentation College. The Art and Bike Spectacle actually grew out of different entities, Gilsenan said, including Red Rooster Coffee House as well as the Fallout Creative Community. Fallout Creative Community's slogan, Gilsenan said, is “a visible and vibrant arts and culture community that serves as a creative bridge for people with limitations.” The independent group's goals are accessible arts, collaborative creativity and to cultivate compassion. An Art and Bike Spectacle was held on North Main Street last fall over Labor Day weekend, Gilsenan said. About 100 or 150 people attended, trying all kinds of arts - from working on a mural to working with clay. People also decorated their bikes like a piece of art, and there was a bike parade, he said. “The success of this Art and Bike Spectacle is it brought so many young people,” Gilsenan said, people you wouldn't ordinarily see putting together community festivals. April's spectacle is free and will be hosted by PC's student social work club and the Friends of Floyd theater group. While plans aren't finalized, there will be activities similar to last fall's event, Gilsenan said. - Elissa Dickey American News writer